Job Discussion Forums

[arioch36]

But Scotty, we are teachers

One way or another, through action or inaction, we do tell our students how to learn. What we are paid for. We can do this ignorantly, or we can consciously examine ourselves, and our teaching , and reflect on how we can best teach. We decide what methods to use, whether to imitate the country we are in, to change, or whatever.

My goal is not to teach my students english, but to teach my students how to learn (learn english)

It is impossible not to communicate

[Anne-Marie Gregory]

Folks, SARS is NOT a problem. I repeat, SARS is not a problem.
China does not have a SARS problem (which doesn't explain why my styudents are locked in when they should have already left but who I am to question this).
China's teenage suicide problem is worrying. A high proportion of the students who've written me diaries etc have revealed in these diaries how depressed they are. They have been pushed onto a programme by their parents, who are investing all the family's finances in it, and, it either not something they want to do, or they are afraid of failing and not getting a dream job at the end of it. I really feel for them.
I've got a student's practice essay in front of me now. He talks about the huge changes that have taken place in China since he was young. His village didn't have TVs or surfaced roads then. Homes were not made of bricks. Now everything has changed. He is at college and will soon graduate. He sees learning English as the only way to get a good job, so that he can contribute to his family's wellbeing. The main man in his family was laid off from a SOE. He's been trying hard to pass the CET exams but failed. It's so sad and I wish I could do more.

[MyTurnNow]

[Roger]

Dear scot47,
I must echo Myturnnow and Chris! We get hired as experts, and as such we should enjoy some authority. Teaching how to learn is our business, not just teaching the subject. IT is a service added to the subject matter. It is like buying a car with or without a warranty. If properly maintained, the car will serve you for a long time t minimal costs. If utilised improperly, you have a big repair bill.
In language acquisition it is similar: if you acquire an L 2 improperly, your body rejects the foreign body called "English". Your system cannot cooperate with it. A language that's a foreign body in a speaker is not treated well, and it in turn will not treat its user well. The learner - if ever he MUST use the L 2, will have to undergo remedial therapy for a long time, with a somewhat dimmed hope to ever achieve the same functionality that native speakers have.

We can also ask the other way around: if our students should not be taught how to learn our lingo, should we, perhaps, have to learn how to teach them in their accustomed style? What would then be the benefit for them???

[chinafriendhere]

If the government were adapting to the SARS crisis then the government would have initiated a clear policy that took into account present and future concerns. On the contrary, the current policy is to stop SARS at all cost even if it means destroying the economy. In many cities across China, the SARS department rules supreme. In these cities, businesses have been closed down by the local government indiscriminately with out thought, where as a policy of quarantining infected areas would have controlled the situation. This has caused a general mood of fear throughout these cities that will have a long-term effect on the economy that will be felt well into next year.

[Jojo]

Hello,
I think this thread is quite fascinating. I am in the process of going to China to teach in the near future. I must applaud you folks that are trying to change the system in some respects.
As a teacher here in Ontario, I can see how hard it would be to try and teach oral language to students that have not learned how to think for themselves. The system sounds very different from the west where there are more hands on activities, and children are encouraged to think freely for themselves.

Are there any chinese teachers that you work with that are at least open to learning new ways of teaching/assessing students? The school that I will teach at, has specifically hired Ontario teachers to teach the Ontario curriculum (50%) in the classroom. My concern is that most of the students language abilities may not be advanced enough to learn these subjects such as science, social studies etc.. Along with the fact that they cannot communicate freely enough to have a conversation on certain topics/levels. I don't think it is useless but, how open are the students/chinese teachers to new ways of thinking/teaching?

Thanks,
Jo

[chinasyndrome]

Hey guys and girls. I'm still gonna wade in and say that today's change must come from the bottom (so to speak) . If we wait for change from the top we'll all be pensioners before we see it beginning to happen. Chinese history is replete with examples. Look at the national anthem. It changed 3 times in 15 years. They had an interim anthem for 14 years.

[MyTurnNow]

[woza17]

Good Post
I tried something the other day in class. I asked the students to talk about their dreams or nightmares and this led to a lot of great stories. I then went on to interpretation of dreams and what they thought they might mean and downloaded some info on symbolism and dreams and we discussed that.
The Chinese have very routine lives and not much happens on a day to day basis but at night their minds roam free like the rest of us.
As to the suicide rate in China, women out number men 3 to 1 especially in the country side. I have read a few articles on the subject in Chinese papers and also and interesting interview on CCTV9 Dialouge ( yes this one was interesting)
Last year at English corner I chose this topic and played REM, Everybody Hurts, gave everyone the lyrics and told the audience I had chosen this topic becasue of the alarming rates of suicide amongst students and this should be spoken about more freely.
I was told that some authorities believe if it is publicized, more students would copy cat these actions.
Regards Carol

[MyTurnNow]

[Jojo]

Thanks for the comments. I have to take MT's position though that the change has to start from the bottom so to speak rather than from the top. Even if the changes are very small. Getting the chinese teachers to talk more to FT's and children becoming more interested in discussing. I can definitely see the frustration and challenges though.

It is so sad as Anne-Marie pointed out about the high suicide rate in China. It is disheartening I'm sure when you want to do more but, feel powerless.
Over here it is sad when they have breakfast programs in the inner city schools and such but, that doesn't compare I'm sure to what is happening over there. Keep it up!

Jo

[Hamish]

[Peter]

I once ran a teachers' course in a school in Shenzhen using Maurice Sendak's book:Where the wild things are.

This book was the basis for a whole raft of language activities.
The Chinese teachers were interested but stated at the end that it was useless: they HAD to follow the prescribed boring textbook in order to meet the deadline and the required high average class percentage

The practice of endless repetition in order to up the percentage of the slower learners is the killer for the average and brighter students, who turn off en masse and twiddle their pens.

Further to teachers' inertia: no one wanted the invest in their own development as teacher by extending their skills; it was not worth the trouble.

From what I have seen, here in China, the ed system is moving at a snails pace as all change MUST come from above.
It is sometimes proposed on these pages that it is a political ploy to keep the citizens lethargic, thus docile

Overall , in primary school, the setup is like when I was 10, and that is now 53 years ago

[Jojo]

Sunaru: It wouldn't be fair to make judgements from this end but, that is not my intention. I was just stating that I think change should come from the bottom even if it is the smallest change within a classroom. I can imagine (not a judgement) that without the support of staff and being a communist country, that change wouldn't happen overnight.

Are you saying that because change should only come from the top that you are accepting the way English is taught/learnt? There is nothing wrong with that (maybe no choice), I guess I'm just an optimist! Maybe my thinking will change once over there, maybe not.

[Roger]

Even the mindset of most parents needs refocusing! I often feel that parents here have a remote-controlled brain. Wherever I go, they respond in predictable ways.
Parents would drop in your lesson, not understand a word in English but go to the Chinese person in attendance and make their recommendations/suggestions/criticisms.
Parents for example enrol preschoolers, demanding that their sole kid "must learn this book", which is a textbook that the kid has not learnt to read yet. You want to teach the kid how to read? Well, then he must first learn how to write. But that is not welcomed by the parents! "You only need to teach him spoken English..." (using "this book").

Besides, CHinese parents do not know what would be best for their children. That these poor youngsters need recreational quality time off with their family and friends, away from school, is an alien thought to them.
From the top to the bottom, you see the same mediocrity - quantity is the only thing that matters! Quantity in English vocables for example, not quality in English.